


a shot in the dark

by bokuoreo



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, daichi is a hopeless gay with a huge crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:29:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25052446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokuoreo/pseuds/bokuoreo
Summary: "H-H-H-ow are you?" Daichi's fingers tense against the counter as he tries to remember how to give customer service."I'm sleepy." Suga smiles, looking at Daichi softly."Well, we have coffee." Daichi stutters, internally wincing. Because yes, Suga knows that. He comes in every day and orders a soy vanilla latte and a pastry. He knows that Miyagi Baking Company has coffee.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	a shot in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first haikyuu series, be kind to me akldsfjasdf

Daichi's eyes open moments before his alarm starts to ring at 4:25 in the morning. He reaches through the dark, fumbling with still sleepy fingertips as he turns off the alarm before it starts to blast through the peaceful darkness of the early morning. It's been five years since he moved to Tokyo on a whim, emptying every single ounce of his savings into a business with his best friend. Daichi knows that he doesn't need an alarm any longer, that his body has been long adjusted to the early mornings of his career. But he always sets one, just in case.

He stretches his limbs, letting the tips of his toes hang off the edge of the mattress as he tries to wake the muscles from their sleep. His right wrist is sore as he presses his fingertips to the joint. He winces as his wrist pops, working out all the kinks from the past five years of rolling out dough and icing cakes. He should probably see a doctor about it but the pain is bearable, for now.

The barely warm water trickling over Daichi's broad back makes him wish he had waited just a few seconds longer to step underneath the shower's stream. Whatever parts of him that were still asleep are now awake, letting him finish the rest of his morning routine on autopilot. He grabs a banana from the bowl on his kitchen counter before making his way down the stairs of his building and unlocking the bakery he conveniently lives above.

Daichi can never hold back the smile that spreads across his face as he turns on the lights and disarms the alarm of the bakery. The fluttering in his stomach is the exact same feeling he used to feel every time he stepped onto the volleyball court many years ago. And although the scene is very different from the screaming crowds and teammates that used to surround him, he wouldn't have it any other way.

It doesn't take long for him to create a list of baked goods and other house cleaning tasks that he needs to get taken care of before his shift ends in the afternoon. There are several cakes that need to be frosted, dough to be laminated, and the walk-in desperately needed to be rearranged. Wedding season is about to begin and he needs all the space he can get for the endless amount of special orders and cakes that are on the books over the next several weeks.

He takes a step back, double checking the left over inventory before settling on his first task of the day.

Daichi pulls out the croissant dough he laminated the day before, feeling a sense of pride in his chest as he remembers the past four weeks of recipe development. It had taken him weeks to make sure the amount of lavender he softened into the butter wouldn't make the entire pastry tastes like a piece of soap. He remembers the smile on a certain someone's face as he told him he finally got it right. That the subtle floral notes of the purple blooms is balanced with just enough sweetness. Daichi can feel the heat of his embarrassment spreading across his cheeks, wiping at his skin with flour covered hands as if they are something he can just brush away.

He shakes his head, rolling out his emotions until the dough is the right thickness and cuts them into triangles and lets his calloused fingers roll the dough into 12 perfectly shaped croissants and placing them gently into the oven.

Daichi loses himself in the motions, finding comfort in the way his hands know exactly what to do without thinking and by the time he hears the sounds of Kuroo unlocking the front door, all of the morning pastries are cooling on the speed rack.

He watches in amusement as his business partner drags his feet towards the back. Unlike himself, Kuroo is still not a morning person and at this rate he probably never will be.

"Morning." Kuroo waves as he puts his coat on the hooks with eyes barely open.

"Did you sleep at all?" Daichi questions his friend's wrinkled state.

Kuroo shakes his head. "Nope."

"Well, it's a good thing you work in a coffee shop." Daichi teases, laughing at the rude gesture Kuroo flashes in his direction before he makes his way over to get to work on the espresso machine.

"Music?" Kuroo asks after several moments of silence.

"Yeah!" Daichi responds as he carefully cuts the rolled cinnamon bun dough into equal parts. "Put on whatever."

Morning light starts to creep through the windows, tinting the bakery in a soft glow. This was Daichi's favorite part of the morning. It won't be long before the quiet street around them wakes up for the day. It’s his last moments of quiet. No customers. No dealing with vendors. Just one of his best friends and him, doing the things they love together.

"Do I smell lavender?" Kuroo lets his nose guide him, breathing in deeply as if he's not sure of what he's smelling.

"Lavender croissants." Daichi nods over towards the cooling rack.

Kuroo gently pulls the tray out off the speed rack shelf, extending an eyebrow upward as he looks at the perfectly baked flaky croissant. "It is Wednesday, after all."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Daichi chokes, trying to play it off as if it was just due to the flour in the air around him.

Although Daichi can only see one of Kuroo's eyes through the mess of ink black hair on his head, he can still see the judgement. Kuroo starts to shake his head, not buying Daichi's attempt to be clueless.

"You know exactly what that means." Kuroo offers the tray as evidence. "You and I both know that a certain Sensei you've had a crush on for the past two years comes in every Wednesday to pick up treats for his class."

"W-w-what does that have to do with lavender croissants? Suga ordered cinnamon rolls this week."

The defensive tone in his voice makes Kuroo's smile widen until every tooth in his jaw is on display. "You have his order memorized?"

Daichi throws a kitchen towel as hard as he can, but it's not heavy enough to do any sort of damage to the shins it was aimed at. "I'm the head baker, it's my job to know these things! I'm the one who bakes every order."

Kuroo snorts. "We'll see about that in about" He checks his watch. "27 minutes."

Daichi looks around the steel table for something of heavier substance that he can throw at his business partner, but there's nothing. He scowls as Kuroo takes the tray towards the front, carefully arranging them on display and taking a piece of Daichi's dignity with him.

33 minutes pass before Daichi hears Kuroo all but shout. "Look who it is!"

"Hey Kuroo!" Suga's voice sing-sings the greeting, making Daichi envision the smile spread across the customer's face. He drops the wooden spoon he was holding into the batter of what will be a chocolate raspberry cake (one of their best sellers). He stares, watching the utensil sink into the bowl.

"Fuck!" He mumbles under his breath quiet enough so the customers can't hear him curse. He quickly picks the spoon out of the batter, holding his other hand underneath to try and catch the batter dripping from the surface.

As soon as he gets the spoon in the sink he hears his business partner shout. "Daichi! Can you bring Suga-sensei's order up to the counter? I have a line."

Daichi drops the spoon into the sink with a thud loud enough to make him jump. He rinses the spoon as quickly as he can before making his way over to the magnetic mirror Kuroo had attached to the special order fridge after Daichi delivered an entire wedding order with a large smear of brownie batter across his forehead. He gives himself a once over, rubbing flour out of the stubble he was too tired to shave this morning.

"Daichi!" Kuroo yells again.

"Kuroo! It's okay! I'm in no hurry." Suga tries to assure the cranky barista that he doesn't mind waiting.

Daichi takes a deep breath, carefully carrying the heavy box of cinnamon rolls towards the patient silver haired man who's eyes widen in a smile as soon as he sees him. He tries not to notice the way his skin wrinkles gently at the corner of his eyes or the way his mole on the high point of Suga's cheeks move as his grin spreads across his face.

"They-they're heavy." Daichi warns as he hands over the order to the teacher.

Suga nods, extending out both of his hands to take the neatly packaged box from him. Daichi holds his breath as he realizes how close his fingertips are to Suga's. He feels the softest touch of skin against his dry overworked hands. He freezes in place, not moving a single muscle as Suga's fingertips move to the cardboard and slowly take the box from his hands.

He hears Kuroo snort, watching in amusement as his friend crashes and burns like he always does when he's in front of Suga.

"Wow, you weren't kidding! These cinnamon rolls are heavy." Suga smiles, carefully tucking the box to his chest. However, the smile quickly fades and Suga's face turns into one of mild panic. "Oh no! I forgot to ask for-"

"I taped the ingredient list to the inside of the box." Daichi finishes his sentence.

He sees Suga's body physically relax, the smile quickly returning to his face. "Ah thank you so much, Daichi! You're the best. What would I do without you?"

Daichi almost combusts on the spot, quickly wringing his sweaty palms in the kitchen towel he has tucked into his apron. "It's really not a big deal."

"Here's your vanilla latte, Suga-sensei." Kuroo purrs, gently placing the latte on the counter.

Daichi watches as Suga flashes a mischievous grin. "Kuroo, how many times have I told you to drop the sensei?"

Instead of answering, Kuroo turns to his business partner. "Doesn't Suga-sensei have a nice ring to it?"

Daichi tries to form words, he really does, but all that comes out of his mouth is a string of mumbling, bumbling syllables that make him wish he could disappear into thin air. Kuroo tries to hold back his laughter, but Suga is pretending to not notice as he leans his face towards the glass display case.

"Lavender croissants?" Suga looks at Daichi through the glass.

Daichi nods. "Y-y-yeah, I decided to put out a test batch to see how well they sell."

"Kuroo?" Suga asks politely. "Can you box up two for me please?"

The barista turns towards Daichi, giving him a knowing smirk as he reaches for the metal tongs, and laughs to himself as he carefully packages the flaky pastries.

"Which recipe did you decide on?" Suga was handing Kuroo his debit card, but his eyes were focused on the baker.

"The third batch." Daichi can feel the heat spread from the back of his neck up to his ears.

"Yay! Those were my favorite." Suga exclaims, happily taking the bag and placing it on top of his box, carefully carrying the latte in his other hand.

"Do you need Daichi's help taking all that to your car?" Kuroo asks for his friend.

But Suga politely shakes his head as he slowly makes his way to the exit, "I think I can manage! Have a good day! See you tomorrow!"

Daichi manages to choke out a "See ya!" but Suga is already on the other side of the door, leaving him alone to deal with whatever teasing is about to fall from Kuroo's lips.

"I don't wanna hear it." Daichi pouts, already replaying everything that went wrong in the past five minutes.

"I didn't say anything." Kuroo holds up his hands defensively.

Daichi takes a second to look around the bakery, finally realizing that Suga had been the only customer in the shop. "Where is that line you needed help with?"

A shit eating grin spreads across Kuroo's face. "What line?"

Daichi glares at him. "You're fired."

Kuroo chases after him as he tries to make his way to the back. "You can't fire me! I'm the only one who knows how to fix the espresso machine when it leaks. And I'll never sell to you!"

"Go clean something!" Is the only comeback Daichi can think of, hanging his head in a mixture of defeat and embarrassment.

"Daich?" A voice calls his name from around the corner.

"What the hell do you want?" He hisses, still embarrassed by his earlier actions. He looks up, realizing that the person he was speaking to is not the source of his frustrations. Yakui is standing in the small hallway that connects the front end of the bakery to the back, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he takes in his boss’ appearance

"What the hell did I do?” Yaku gives him a once over.

Daichi sets the piping bag he's holding back down onto the work surface and takes a deep breath. "I thought you were Kuroo."

“Yes, because I look so much like Kuroo.” Yaku replies flatly.

“I heard that.” Kuroo calls out from the front of house.

Daichi huffs, taking a final look at the cake he has been trying to frost for the past who knows how long. "Did you need something?"

Yaku nods. "Asahi Azume is here for his interview."

"Of fuck, it's already 10?" Daichi's eyes widen as his complete lack of awareness. "I guess that makes sense since you're here."

He takes a second to process what he has just said. “Wait, it’s Wednesday. Why are you here? It’s your day off. Where is Bokuto?”

His employee chews on his bottom lip. “He needed the day off.”

He looks at the cake on the frosting stand in front of him and back at Yaku, who was patiently waiting for his boss to tell him what to do. "Will you just offer him a drink and tell him that I'll be out there in just a minute?"

Yaku nods, turning around without another word.

Daichi tries to hurry as fast as he can without damaging the past two or three hours of work. He places the cake onto a cake round before carefully sliding it into a box, taping it up and putting in the walk-in where it will wait until it's time for it to be picked up. Daichi rushes over to his office, throwing off his apron and letting it fall into a giant heap on his desk chair. There is nothing the baker hates more than being late for interviews more than interviewees being late for interviews. He finds the folder with Asahi's resume and interview questions and tucks it under his arms.

"He's in the corner." Asahi nods quietly once Daichi finally makes his way to the front of the bakery. He looks over to see a very large, very strong looking man cradling a cup of green tea between his giant palms.

"Do you want to be a part of this?" He nudges Kuroo in the ribs, digging in a little deeper as payback for his teasing.

Kuroo shakes his head to no surprise. "You know I know nothing about baking. I'll let you handle it."

Daichi nods, pouring himself a mug of coffee before making his way over to the table.

"Asahi?" He asks cautiously, not wanting his potential new employee to scare and spill his drink.

The man looks up at him with intense brown eyes. Daichi can't tell if the way his features are set in his face is due to nerves, or if Asahi always looks that intimidating. He offers out his palm for a handshake. "I'm Sawamura Daichi. I run the back end of Miyagi Baking Company."

"It's nice to meet you, Daichi-san." Asahi takes his hand, shaking it firmly before sitting back in his seat as Daichi occupies the other chair.

"Let me just grab your resume." Daichi starts to flick through the paper in his folder but Asahi stops him.

He slides over a copy of my resume. "I brought extras, just in case."

"You're prepared." Daichi smiles, taking the impressive looking document and glancing it over.

"I try to be, but I’m also really nervous so I wanted to make sure I was prepared." Daichi can detect the quivering in the man’s voice.

"I can see that." He scans through his previous employment, raising his eyebrows at several familiar names. "I can also see that you're overqualified for this job."

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Asahi stiffen, his body going rigid as he processes what Daichi has just said.

"That's not a bad thing!" Daichi adds quickly, waving his hands dismissively, "It just makes me wonder why you want to work at a place like this."

Asahi nods, chewing on his bottom lip, "I just moved to Tokyo a few weeks ago, but I would always stop by when I was in town and I really liked the environment here. You guys seem like a team here and that's important to me. I started looking for jobs, had a few offers from other places but none of them felt right. So when I saw that you were hiring, I knew I had to apply."

"I'm glad you see us that way." Daichi nods over towards the counter. "Kuroo and I are the owners, but we want everyone to feel like their job here is important. Because it is. We wouldn't be half as successful if it wasn't for the work of our employees.”

“How did it go?” Kuroo asks fifteen minutes later and as soon as the door shuts behind Asahi. 

“He starts on Friday.” Daichi dumps the cold coffee in his mug out and replaces it with another cup. 

“Have you talked to Bokuto lately?” Daichi asks, blowing on the surface of the black coffee before taking a sip. 

Kuroo sighs, shaking his head. “I was going to talk to you about that. This is the third time in a week and a half he’s gotten his shift covered.”

“Do you know what’s going on?” 

“No, he won’t respond to my texts if they aren’t about work.”

“I think we should have a team dinner on Friday. We haven’t had one since we hired Iwaizumi and I think it would be a good chance for Asahi to meet everyone.” 

“Hopefully this time you don’t get drunk and cry about Suga’s mole for 5 minutes straight.”

Daichi grabs a spoon from the cup on top of the espresso machine and hurtles it right at Kuroo’s head. “I did not cry over his mole! I had chili oil on my hands and it got in my eyes!”

“Uh-huh, sure!” Kuroo laughs, ducking at the last second. “Whatever you say, Captain.”

Daichi gets to the bakery early on Friday morning to give himself some time to make it seem like he actually knows what he's doing when it comes to being a boss. He makes a full pot of coffee, remembering that Asahi had mentioned he hasn't worked at 5 AM in a few months and pours himself a cup once it's ready. He leans against his work table, slowly blowing on the surface of the hot liquid before taking a sip.

He can't help but feel nostalgic as he looks around the dark bakery. The light creeping through the back of house shadows and highlights the years of hard work Kuroo and Daichi have put into Miyagi Baking Company. They've come a long way since the farmer's markets and pop-ups they used to frequent before they earned enough money to buy the building that houses his entire life. Daichi knows he should be proud that most small businesses fail after three years, yet Miyagi was growing faster than either one of them expected. He knows that they'll eventually outgrow this space, that they'll need more leg room, but the thought of not walking downstairs to work every morning pulls on his heartstrings.

A soft knock on the front door makes Daichi jump, spilling the now room temperature coffee over his hands. He looks over to see Asahi apologetically waving hello. He had definitely seen Daichi do that.

"Morning." Daichi smiles, unlocking the door and letting his new employee into the space.

Asahi mumbles something that sounds like a good morning, and although he is awake and following Daichi around as he explains the alarm system and hands him his own key to the shop, it's clear that the new hire is very much still asleep.

"If you need coffee, I made a fresh pot." Daichi nods over to the carafe full of the life source that keeps so many of his employees (himself included) going.

Asahi hurriedly makes himself a cup, not wanting to keep his boss waiting. He sighs after taking a first sip, closing his eyes and letting the caffeine start to kick in. "Sorry, it's been a while since I've been up this early for work."

Daichi shakes his head. "Don't worry about it! You'll get used to it soon enough, hopefully."

"I brought my own starter."

" A what?"

Asahi pulls out a large jar of beige and places it on the counter. "I brought my own sourdough starter."

Daichi laughs at himself, refilling his mug even though it was still half full. "Right. I knew that."

"What exactly do you want me to work on this morning?" Asahi takes another sip of his drink, turning his body to face Daichi.

"I don't want you to feel any pressure about getting the product out right away. I figured for the first few weeks you can work on recipe development and product testing. I care more about the quality of the product, than the quantity. I don't want you to feel pressure to have everything figured out and ready to sell on your first day."

Asahi nods, listening to his boss carefully.

"I figured today we can start with the basics. We have a selection of pastries we offer every day, although the flavor is up to you. We try to offer seasonal specials to utilize the ingredients available. Since it’s spring, we have some floral items and peaches are coming into season so we should think about what we can do with them. If you ever need something we don’t have, there is a green credit card in my office. You just need to bring the receipt back with you."

"I can do that."

"Great." Daichi smiles, downing the lukewarm coffee. "Should we get started?"

Asahi is quiet, not the awkward kind of quiet, but the comfortable kind of quiet. A kind of quiet that he wishes the rest of his employees and co-owner would learn to appreciate and implement into their own lives. He asks questions when he needs to and listens to Daichi attentively when he remembers something he forgot to mention in the interview. They fall into a steady rhythm, working steadily at their tables.

Daichi hears the sound of the front door unlocking and takes a step back from the cookies he is in the middle of scooping onto a sheet tray.

Bokuto, or rather someone who looks like Bokuto, is fumbling with his keys. A black beanie is pulled over his head, squashing his white blonde and black hair to his neck. Dark circles hang from his lower lashes, making his features look more and more owl-like than normal.

Daichi can't watch him struggle with the door any longer and sets down his work to help his friend.

"Thanks." Bokuto mumbles with hunched shoulders and eyes glued to the wood floor as he pushes past his boss and walks over to hang his denim jacket on the employee coat rack.

"This is Asahi." Daichi introduces the new hire. "He's going to be making bread for us. And Asahi, this is Bokuto. He's one of the baristas."

"I would shake your hand, but my hands are covered in flour." Asahi holds his palms up hesitantly, eyes flickering over to his boss cautiously.

Bokuto mumbles. "Nice to meet you." Before walking over to the aux cord and drowning out the silence with the heavy beats Daichi has learned he only listens to when shit has hit the fan.

"I'll be right back." Daichi gives an apologetic glance over to Asahi who simply nods before turning his attention back to the dough he is shaping into loaves of bread.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Daichi asks, leaning back against the counter next to the espresso machine.

"Not really." Bokuto responds curtly, flushing out the grouphead for a few seconds.

"Bokuto." Daichi isn't one to normally press the issue, but Bokuto has never seen his friend like this before. "What happened?"

He watches as Bokuto's hand clenches around the shot glass in his hand, wincing at the undialed in espresso shot he just pulled. He washes the acidity away with sparkling water, stalling his friend's question for as long as he can.

"Bo-"

"Keij-" Bokuto quickly corrects himself. "Akaashi and I broke up."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Daichi switches from boss to friend at Bokuto's response.

Bokuto shrugs. "Yeah, well I guess everyone saw it coming but me."

"I'm not going to ask you what happened, but just know that if you need me, I'm here for you." Daichi places a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder. "And if it would help to get out of the house, I want to take everyone out for a team dinner tonight."

"I-I-I don't know." Bokuto hesitates.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Daichi tries to lighten the mood. "It's Kuroo's turn to pay!"

However, Daichi didn't expect for all six of them to sit huddled next to each other in a large booth in the back corner of the restaurant with drinks in hand and completely silent.

Everyone is staring off into different directions. Iwaizumi's eyes are glued to his phone with his fingers moving at the speed of light as he is probably telling Oikawa all the awkward details of their failed night out.

Daichi's phone vibrates, buzzing in his pocket several times. He doesn't want to be rude (like someone else at the table) but no one pays attention as he unlocks his phone to check several text messages from Iwaizumi.

Say something.  
Anything.  
This is fucking awful.

Daichi tries his best to play it cool, casually looking up from his phone as he takes a drink from his beer, locking eyes with Iwaizumi who casually nods his head in the sulking Bokuto's direction. He feels Yaku's eyes flickering between them, nothing ever slipping between the barista's fingers.

"Have you seen Suga this week?" Iwaizumi asks his boss, making the man choke on his drink.

Daichi tries to pull himself together, swallowing as much liquid as he can without taking his tongue along with him. He wipes at the corners of his mouth, dabbing the spilled beer with a bar napkin.

"Daichi! How are you going to date Suga-sensei if you lose your shit any time someone brings him up?" Kuroo teases.

"Shut up!" Daichi presses his lips into a thin line, but he sees the way Bokuto has perked up, loving the fact that the attention has shifted from him to someone else.

"Who is Suga?" Asahi asks in an attempt to figure out what everyone's talking about.

"A re-"

"Daichi's crush-tomer!" Kuroo wiggles his eyebrows, enjoying the way Daichi's face turns into 7 different shades of pink.

"A crush-tomer?" Asahi asks, shifting his weight to rest his elbows on the table. "What's that?"

"A crush-tomer is a customer you have a crush on." Iwaizumi explains. "And our boss Daichi has the biggest crush on a certain customer named Sugawara Koushi. He teaches at the elementary school down the street from the shop with my boyfriend Oikawa. He comes in every day for a vanilla latte and a pastry and on Wednesdays he picks up treats for his students?"

"I do not have a crush on Suga, he’s just nice to look at." Daichi tries to defend himself, but his normally husky voice comes out several octaves higher than it normally does.

"Uh-uh, right. If you don’t have a crush on Suga then why is that every time he casually mentions a baked good, it magically appears on the menu two weeks later? How many lavender croissants is it going to take before you actually ask the man out?" Bokuto adds fuel to the fire.

"Seriously!" Kuroo leans in further, "You're a really handsome man, Daichi! I don't know why you don't have more confidence! You're a successful business owner. You don't have a dad bod, yet. And all your hair is on your head. You just need some confidence!"

Daichi shoots a glare over at Iwaizumi, who is sitting back against the booth, watching in enjoyment as his boss flounders in front of him. "Look what you started."

Yaku stifles a laugh. "It's better than sitting in silence."

"It's called taking one for the team, Captain." Kuroo chimes in, wrapping his arms around Daichi's shoulders and pulling him in tightly. "But for real, watching you try to have a normal conversation with Suga-sensei is like watching a car crash on slow motion."

"It's not that bad!" Daichi groans, feeling the heat on his cheeks turn to scalding.

Kuroo pats his shoulder gently. "It's okay, Captain. It wouldn't be fair if the universe gave you handsome looks, great baking abilities and social skills."

The table, including Asahi starts to laugh, making Daichi sulk back into the booth, fingers gripping his beer. His coworkers may have a point, but he is way too proud to ever admit that out loud. "You're all fired." He hisses without any actual bite.

"You've been saying that since what happened last spring." Iwaizumi challenges his boss, making everyone at the table freeze.

Daichi's eyes narrow. "Don't you dare tell that story, again."

The table bursts into laughter as they replay the moment Daichi wished the Earth could open up and swallow him whole. Asahi looks around the table, understandably confused as to what could make his new coworkers cry with laughter. However, the joy is short lived as one by one the people at the table go silent. Bokuto freezes in place, eyes widening in a look of almost terror.

Daichi follows their gaze, tipsy eyes focusing on the man who was frozen in place in front of the table.

Akaashi looks like a deer in headlights as 6 pairs of eyes now stare at him. His tie is loosened, hanging around his neck in a state of dishevelment that Daichi has never seen before. There are dark circles under his eyes, and his shoulders look like they are carrying an unseen amount of weight. The man tries to pull himself together, swallowing down whatever emotions were coursing through his body as he stares at his ex-boyfriend and some of his closest friends.

"Hello." Akaashi nods towards everyone, saving eye contact with Bokuto for last. He takes a deep breath, composing himself before addressing him. "Bokuto."

The wince that spreads throughout Bokuto's entire body is noticed by everyone at the table, including Akaashi who immediately drops his gaze to the ground. He takes a step back from the table, and nods one more time before disappearing into the growing crowd of the bar. "I hope you all have a good night."

"I should go." Bokuto announces to the table after a few moments of very awkward silence. Yaku and Iwaizumi get up to let him out, knowing better than to try and stop him.

"I'll come with you." Kuroo announces, getting up from his spot at the booth.

"I don't need a babysitter." Bokuto grumbles, but waits for his friend anyway.

"I know. I have to open tomorrow and I'm fucking tired, okay?" Kuroo reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet and tosses his card onto the table. "It's my turn to buy right?"

Daichi nods.

"Just hold onto my card and give it to me tomorrow." Kuroo tells Daichi before placing a gentle hand on Bokuto's back and leading him through the crowd.

Daichi turns back to the table. "Should we call it a night?"

"That was probably a sign." Yaku answers, letting the rest of the crew nod in agreement.

Daichi turns to look at his new employee and smiles apologetically. "This isn't exactly how I imagined tonight going. It's not usually like this when we're all together."

Asahi shrugs, un-phased by what just happened. "It's okay. I'm just glad I got to meet everyone."

Everyone gets up from the table after Daichi settles the bill, taking off in their separate directions one by one. He takes his time getting home, letting his feet drag one step at a time to avoid going home to an empty dark apartment.

Kuroo pokes his head around the corner just a few minutes after unlocking the front door and letting the first few customers wander in.

"What do you want?" Daichi asks without taking his eyes off the inventory list in his hands.

"Can you watch the front?" Kuroo asks even though he knows it's Daichi's least favorite thing to do.

"Why?"

"I need to pee!" Kuroo hisses, checking over his shoulder to make sure that no one heard him.

"Fine." He grumbles, wiping his hands off on the towel hanging from his apron and makes his way to the front, freezing in front of the morning's cinnamon roll as he realizes who just walked into the door.

Damn it, Kuroo.

Suga, or someone who looks like a very sleepy version of Suga walks through the front door of the bakery. His silver hair is a mess, even underneath the mustard yellow beanie. The sweatshirt he's wearing has seen better days. The logo of the university across his chest is covered in various streaks of paint and who knows what else. He looks soft, and warm. And all Daichi wants to do is wrap him in a giant blanket and tuck him back in bed.

"Mornin." Suga moves his wrist in an attempt to wave.

"H-H-H-ow are you?" Daichi asks, fingers tensing against the counter as he tries to remember how to give customer service.

"I'm sleepy." Suga smiles, looking at Daichi softly.

"Well, we have coffee." Daichi stutters, internally wincing. Because yes, Suga knows that. He comes in every day and orders a soy vanilla latte and a pastry. He knows that Miyagi Baking Company has coffee.

"Yes, very good coffee." Daichi exhales, feeling relieved that Suga plays along with his stupidity.

"Soy vanilla latte?" Daich asks, even though he's had his order memorized since the second time Suga blessed him with his presence.

"Can you make it a quad? I had a long night." He hands over his ceramic thermos.

Daichi stares at it, quickly analyzing where he can place his fingers that will eliminate any chance of skin contact. He carefully takes the thermos, holding his breath he takes the cup from Suga's hands. He watches Suga withdraw, brushing his fingertips across the back of Daichi's hand. His body bursts into flames as the contact spreads through his veins and goes straight to his heart with such force that he feels like his chest might explode.

Suga's smile widens, cheeks flushing as he quickly changes the subject, bending over to look at the pastry case before selecting a few croissants and an ube mochi muffin (that was Daichi's special addition six months ago).  
"I'm going to make your drink now." Daichi announces, making his toes curl in embarrassment. He's thankful that he has something to focus on instead of Suga's lingering gaze. He tries to remember all the steps Kuroo showed him (multiple times) in order to make the vanilla latte up to his partner's standards.

"Are you doing anything fun?" Suga asks casually in between bites of his muffin.

Daichi looks over at the customer after tamping the espresso into the portafilter. Suga has a clump of dark purple crumbs lingering on the corner of his mouth and it takes every fiber of Daichi's muscular being to not reach out and taste the crumbs off his skin. He attaches the piece of the espresso machine in his hand onto the machine, pushing the button to start pouring the first espresso shot.

"Just work." Daichi refuses to take his eyes off the espresso pouring into the waiting shot glass.

"All weekend?" Suga asks as if he can't believe what he's hearing. "Do you ever take a day off?"

"I think the planets would have to align upside down and backwards for that to happen." Kuroo cuts in, stepping in front of Daichi at the espresso machine. "I'll finish this. We don't want Suga-sensei to taste your terrible lattes."

"I like everything Daichi makes me." Suga responds sweetly, taking a rather large bite out of his muffin as a form of proof.

Daichi stares at the floor. "You didn't like the rosewater cake I made."

"Because it tasted like perfume!" Kuroo snorts. "You dumped the whole bottle of rose water into the batter and tried to play it off like it was on purpose."

"Well, it did smell lovely." Suga plays along, wrinkling his nose at the memory of eating a cake that tasted more like soap than dessert.

"But I redeemed myself with those lavender croissants." Daichi tries to defend himself, making the silver haired customer smile wider.

"And the latte is quad!" He remembers before Kuroo starts to steam the large pitcher of soy milk.

"You got it! Anything for Daichi's." Kuroo's eyes fill with mischief. "I mean, our favorite customer."

"You did! They're lovely." Suga reaches out to take the latte once Kuroo finishes. He had to hear the teasing comment, but as he takes a test sip from the warm drink, he makes no mention of it. "It's perfect as always, Kuroo."

"We were voted the best bakery in the neighborhood for a reason!" Kuroo smiles before making his way back to the register to greet a group of customers that just walked through the door.

"Well, I hope you have a lovely day, Daichi." Suga smiles, walking towards the front door and taking a piece of Daichi's heart with him.

"Have a good night!" Daichi waves awkwardly, letting out a sigh of relief once the door closes behind Suga and he sees the silver haired man walk down the block.

"You do know it's 7:31 in the morning right?" A voice that doesn't belong to Kuroo teases, making Daichi spin on his heels.

Asahi is standing in the hallway between the two halves of the bakery, trying to hold in a laugh.

"Don't you dare!" Daichi wiggles a warning finger in the direction of his new hire. "Don't you fucking dare say anything!"

"I didn't do anything!" The baker holds up his hands. "I'm not going to say a word."

Daichi tries his best to glare. "You laughed. I can see you laughing!! Asahi!"

The redder the baker gets, the more Asahi, and now Kuroo can't hold back their laughter.

"It's not funny!"

"Asahi, you're going to fit in just fine." Kuroo gives Daichi a sympathy squeeze. "At least today you managed to get out complete sentences!"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Tamara for always beta reading my work. And to Kat for letting me bounce ridiculous ideas off of you that actually turn into fics. 
> 
> you can find me on here:  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/bokuoreos)  
> [tumblr](https://bokuoreo.tumblr.com)


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